Jailed journo up for coveted award

OUT OF JAIL: Kiwi journalist Robin Hammond who was arrested in Zimbabwe on April 16.

New Zealand photojournalist Robin Hammond has been nominated for a prestigious international award.

He made news worldwide last year when he was arrested in Zimbabwe for reporting without accreditation, spending 25 days in jail.

The 37-year-old was forced to share a single toilet with the same lice-ridden prisoners he had been in the country to report on. Hammond undertook the assignment after winning the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award.

His release was eventually secured by a charity and the New Zealand embassy.

He has been nominated for two World Photography Awards categories, vying with more than 120,000 entries. Hammond has been shortlisted before, and this year features in the professional and contemporary issues sections.

Professional category winners and the coveted L'Iris D'Or/World Photography Awards' photographer of the year title will be named in London on April 25. The L'Iris D'Or winner will win US$25,000, while the open photographer of the year will earn US$5000.